Lirathal

I am coming close to picking up my factory ordered Maxima within a few weeks. My question is, to all those people who have picked up new cars before, what's the routine for picking it up. I don't mean the office mumbo jumbo, but the car itself. Do you test drive it? Do you get a full inspection done ... do you sit down, hit the loud pedal and peel out?

Give me your best "new car routine'!

Compusmurf

I check it over looking for any scratch, blemish, questionable spot, look under and in the engine compartment for any obvious dangling things, I check every light, switch, wipers, doors, etc, I dig thru the trunk making sure everything is there that they claim should be there. IF it's not, I make a note and have them fix/replace missing items, etc. Once you drive it off the lot and didn't notice things, no guarantee you will get them fixed.

Then, test drive, have the dealership fill it up with 91/93 gas, ask them to remove OR not install the dealership advertisement stickers. If they want free advertisement, they can pay me. I don't mind if they put their license plate frame on, I'll remove it, but stickers=bad.

I have them remove the window stickers.

THEN, I do NOT let them wash the exterior. God only knows what crappy rags and crap they have their boys use... I'll pass. I do it myself when I get it home anyway.

If they comply with all my wishes, I'll finish signing the paperwork. It's my money, my rules.

I had one sales guy refuse to take off their dealership advertisement sticker. I told him fine, I'll find another dealership, his manager tried to tell me the same thing, but as I started walking for the door, they complied. It's YOUR hard earned $$$, and it'll be YOUR car. They want you to part with the $, they will do what is requested to make the sale....

lightonthehill

I drove up to the dealership in my beautifully cleaned '04 SL, and my salesperson had her 'checker' check my '04 trade-in carefully to be sure it was perfect. Then my '09 was brought to the front of the dealership. It had just been hauled in from a distant dealership, unloaded off the truck, and washed with a touchless car wash. She went over all the controls with me, pointing out those that had changed from the 6th gen. Then she and I drove around several miles so I could be sure there was no immediate driving problem, and I could get a feel for the car. We stopped at a BP station, and filled the car with premium (her tab, of course).

After getting back to the dealership, her 'tech' guy got in and showed me how to work with the navi (I had never had the navi before). Then I looked very carefully at every inch of the outside and inside of the car, in case there was a scratch, etc. This check for scratches, rips, smudges, etc, is EXTREMELY critical, because once you drive off the lot alone, it becomes your word against theirs with this type problem.

By then, my salesperson had gathered all the paperwork and had it arrayed on a large desk, and she guided me through the whole rigamarole. Rather painless.

Then I drove off westward into a blinding sunset in an unfamiliar area at exactly the start of the 5 PM rush (that lot was not near my home, but that dealership's other lot, just four miles from my home, is where I will have all my maintenance, repairs and warranty work done).

I do not take the time to check out things like bulbs, bells and whistles, because it was a pain to get to that dealership lot, and I was determined to not have to make that trip again. But then I have never been concerned with small warranty-type problems with a new car, and would not let them influence the closing of the sale, because I always have my wife help me check out every last nut and bolt the first pretty day after the purchase. I keep all problems listed, and take the car in a few months later and have every warranty thing fixed on the same trip at that dealership's lot near my home, where there is a loaner if needed. As info, my 'warranty work' list does not yet have a single item on it.

Then I drive the car to town, where there is a six lane road, cruise in the slow lane and enjoy watching all the stares and gawks from the cars easing by me. It is fun to see how many will slow down just as they come abreast of my rear bumper, and I know very well they are staring at my car. Life is good.

Maxgal

Actually, I got really annoyed with my dealer for removing my sticker from the car because I think it's illegal for them to remove it. They're not supposed to do that. http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

Dealerships hate me, because of this, I assure you. Luckily, when I bought my car, they didn't try to sell me any of that rustproofing idiocy or anything else. I only negotiated the price of my car. Then we talked trade-in, then tax and tags. It was pretty painless overall.

My only complaint with my car right now is the cargo net won't stretch all the way without snapping back. So, I'll take it back and ask them to show me what its problem is or replace it with one that stretches correctly.

lightonthehill

I have the windpw stickers from my last three Maximas carefully folded and filed. My salesperson knows I am very **** about having the window sticker. Those are important to me, as they show exactly what options at what MSRP came with the car.

Info can be discerned by studying the hardly-noticable numbers on that sticker. For instance, the 'setup date' is the first part of that row of tiny numbers in the lower right margin of the window sticker. Under normal conditions, the car will have rolled off the assembly line approximately one week after that date.

My salesperson also knows I do not want holes punched in the front bumper so they can have their tag on display. I allow them to place their dealer logo on the trunk, as long as it is one that can easily be pulled off by hand without damaging anything. As soon as I got home, I pulled their logo off, trimmed off the exterraneous gibberish, and put back the part that reads simply 'NISSAN SOUTH.'

Maxgal

Right, I think the sticker is supposed to be on the car at purchase, like it is with other merchandise. Only to be removed by customer. That way, you know what you are getting and it isn't being switched. I flat out told the sales guy that what he did was illegal and I told the manager the same thing. He agreed with me and told me that he keeps telling the sales people and they never listen to him. I want to remove it myself. I keep the sticker too and study it as you do.

Compusmurf

It was ON the car when I picked mine out. It was "in" the car (and VIN matches of course) when I drove off the lot. It's still folded neatly in the glovebox with the owners manual. As far as being illegal, just what we need, another lame law that isn't enforced. Hahaha.

Anyway, back to the OP's things. He asked what we do, so I'm assuming he's going to make up his own list based on what other folks do.